We have no less than four
witnesses as to who it was who took advantage of the opportunity,
and so, Mr. Barker, I think the word lies now with you."
Sherlock Holmes put the sopping bundle upon the table beside the
lamp and undid the cord which bound it. From within he extracted
a dumb-bell, which he tossed down to its fellow in the corner.
Next he drew forth a pair of boots. "American, as you perceive,"
he remarked, pointing to the toes. Then he laid upon the table a
long, deadly, sheathed knife. Finally he unravelled a bundle of
clothing, comprising a complete set of underclothes, socks, a
gray tweed suit, and a short yellow overcoat.
"The clothes are commonplace," remarked Holmes, "save only the
overcoat, which is full of suggestive touches." He held it
tenderly towards the light. "Here, as you perceive, is the inner
pocket prolonged into the lining in such fashion as to give ample
space for the truncated fowling piece. The tailor's tab is on
the neck--'Neal, Outfitter, Vermissa, U.S.A.' I have spent an
instructive afternoon in the rector's library, and have enlarged
my knowledge by adding the fact that Vermissa is a flourishing
little town at the head of one of the best known coal and iron
valleys in the United States.
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